Friday, July 31, 2009

Yes, both of my boys are born within days of each other...(of course 3 years apart really helped)!

I can hardly believe that Receiver is finally 5!! He has been counting down the days since he turned 4 and now we get to move onto "Mom, when will I be 6"?

So, there were a couple of big things on Receivers list that we did on his birthday...

1. We HAD to have his 1stBig Mac! LOL. I am not sure where this request came from but who am I to argue with a 5 year olds logic..so, you guessed it we all loaded up and headed to the Mc-Arches for that little 600 calorie doozie!! I guess the good thing was that he only ate about 4 bites because it was just too big!

*No pictures of this event either..what was the matter with me?*

2. We had to go see "ViKtor" the Vikings mascot. This was no small feat! Luckily, it was the 1st day of training camp so we were able to drive 2 hours and visit him. Receiver also got a signed Adrian Peterson football while at practice. Unfortunately, there were too many people to get a photo of both of them together...but here he is signing the ball for receiver!! Go # 28! Right now him and Jared Allen are the ONLY things the Vikings have going for them!!!

3. We had to buy a "Viktor" hat. This was his small birthday gift because as most of you know...the boys opted for a puppy this year instead of a large birthday party..so here is Receiver in that sweet "Viktor" hat. Can't imagine this coming off anytime soon!!!

4. CAKE & Ice Cream! Of course....my children live for this stuff (I'm sure that is NOT hereditary or anything)!

TOP 5 things that I love about receiver, in no particular order:

5. He is soo adventurous! Yes, sometimes this equates to danger but he makes me see the excitement in climbing fences or jumping off refrigerators. Those little things that I forget about!

4. He has always known his limits as far as bedtime is concerned, from the second he wakes up he is going 100mph so I really appreciate that come 7:30 I hear those lovely words "Mom, can you tickle my back?" That is code for I need to go to bed!!

3. He is a really funny little guy. Loves to tell jokes and he gets the punchline!

2. He has a really great singing voice. This kid can carry a tune!

1. He is a gentle little boy that deep down, just needs to be loved like all of the wonderful kids in our lives...and THAT he is!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

It has seriously been months since I have done an I Heart Faces. I'm not sure where my summer has gone but when Beach came up, I realized I needed to get back in the game. Yes, I have plenty of photos of my boys, playing and laughing on the beach...but I just love this shot I took at a river in Maryland on vacation (A river counts...right)? It was tucked into this really great park with old bridges and tons and tons of cool rocks!!

Believe it or not, this photo was taken during a"Time Out" because receiver was not behaving...now...imagine that!!! *

Good Luck to all who participate this week.

*Note, I am SOOO out of practice that my 1st picture posted was a beautiful beach shot but NO faces were in the photo...

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Our oldest boy has turned 8 and I am having a hard time dealing with it.

We have to say that we are pretty proud of the "little man" he has become and we are praying every day for the man that he turns out to be.

As a first born it is always his character to seek the approval from adults and let me just say that by seeking approval, I mean hold entire conversations with adults who are 10 times his age. Hmmm..not sure where he gets his chatterbox skills!!

Happy Birthday Quarterback & Here are just (8) things that we love about you!!!

(there are obviously more but this is my thing...you know the lists)

8. You are a SPORTS FREAK. I mean not just the average kid who is interested. You LIVE and DIE by ESPN and if Sports Center is not on in your room to tell you the stats of the last MLB game...uh, watch out! A boy has got to know what Joe Mauer is hitting for the Twins...RIGHT?

7. I do NOT need a tip calculator with him around. Thanks to his math skills I can safely go out to eat without feeling like a cheap skate anymore!

6. An avid collector of all things SPORTS Jerseys. Yep, he is in love with $60.00 shirts with numbers on the back. Gone are my days of the $1.99 T-shirt from Old Navy. He has his own style and even his principal at school says "Hey, you look weird without a jersey on"!

(Now you know why I wear the lamest cheapest clothes I can find)

5. He plays Hockey in the basement with his brother at least 10 times a day. Yes, someone always comes up with an injury but what else are big brothers for? They have to show you the ropes, and sometimes you get burned!

4. His spelling determination. He wants to soak up that dictionary and as long as I am around to promote that...we could be spelling bee bound! Today's word CONSCIENTIOUS. Dudes, I had to look that up again to spell it correct myself...YIKES, I am not a teacher!

3. That jacked up smile that he has! Yes, I LOVE IT! It is soooo him right now. I just love that his 2 front teeth are a little crooked and that the 2 next to the fronts are totally MISSING. Yes, you heard me correctly...No ADULT teeth are there. So, it is a good thing he is sticking with us because the Orthodontia bill is going to be a little crazy!

2. He still snuggles!!! Yes, my 8 year old still climbs into my bed at 8 in the morning and says "Good Morning Mom and Dad...I Love you!!!" Uh, Yeah, I'm gonna take that until he is at least 50...bottle it up and take it for another 50!!! ;) I Just LOVE that!!!

1. He is beginning to let God guide his little life! He understands that when he makes mistakes that forgiveness is key and that with God in your heart, you will always feel a "tug" as he calls it to do the right thing.

Happy Birthday to one of the most grateful, sweetest, kindest, hardest working, naturally good looking, adorable, sporty, smart, children I know....(Yes, I am bias).

We enjoyed the Star spangled banner by the fife and drums, a reading of the declaration of Independence and the Largest American Flag in the United States was hung.

It was very hot outside but we enjoyed learning about all of things that people did in 1876.

Next destination...Washington D.C.

Our next stop was to visit our old neighbors who moved to Baltimore. Receiver and their little guy really hit it off and they missed each other. It was soo fun to catch up with them!

Here are a couple of the pics...

And look at this big girl...she is turning two in just a couple of days and I can't believe how big she is...Isn't she just sweet?Then it was onto my hometown of Detroit, Michigan. We had a great visit with my family and of course my IRL cousin Mimi and her family opened up their home to allow us to invade! Thanks to them for all the laughs over 2 days...most of which came from Receiver and Stunt Man..those 2 are turkeys ;) But let me just say that Actress and Model are growing up soo fast and are just the most adorable things...Man, tight end really needs to have a girl!!! ;)

We loved spending time with them. The men took the kiddos (minus stunt man) to the baseball game and the girls (Mimi, Stacey and me) went for a Mexican dinner and some shopping...Thanks ladies! It was a blast!

Our final stop on the road trip was to our Best Friends house in Chicago. We see them several times a year but we enjoy ourselves every time. They are our family and we can just hang out and do a little bit of this with them...

And now, consider yourself totally caught up. Let's just pretend that this was NOT for me who absolutely needed to document this!!! LOL

Thursday, July 2, 2009

So you may wonder why I have not blogged in a week...and then again you may not care! Who am I kidding? I mean, I love all of you but I will be honest, when my life gets a little to hairy..what is the 1st thing that falls by the waist side??? Yep, you guessed it, comments. I still look at all the blogs, catch up but sometimes the comments can eat up a good couple of hours so PLEASE PLEASE forgive me. I will be back among the commenter's again soon, I promise!

I'm a little OVER-tired and a little under prepared..has that ever happened to any of you? I am heading on a 10 day road trip with my family and I am the one who is getting everything ready!!! With 3 men in my house lets just say that my OCD kicks in and I am a lunatic...

I have to remember to

Nothing but minor

I'm sure over the next couple of days as we reach our destination we will visit a few of these

I hope that over the course of the trip, I don't call my husband a....

or he might just wish that I still looked like this:

I'm pretty sure when I ask my family what they want to eat, they will answer like this:

I may just have to ask everyone at least once or twice PLEASE..PLEASE

If I encounter this sign..We will SPEED up to avoid at ALL costs ;)

Things that we DO NOT plan on visiting on our road trip:

We might get the "Are we there yet?" Somewhere around:

And finally, yes, FINALLY!!!

PLUS 1 = Happy Fun, Summer Vacation...

I will be posting, Commenting and Having a wonderful time meeting up with Mimi and Stacey!!!